Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has given the assurance that the state’s rail project will be affordable upon completion.
According to him, the ticket would be between N200 and N250.
Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance on Friday when speaking on a Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily.
He said the main reason for the project was to reduce travel time and the gridlock that had characterized transportation in Lagos State.
His words: “Time is money and we need to move millions of people in Lagos from one corridor to another. The vision is to reduce travel time and gridlock on the road.” He stated further: “I don’t think citizens will be breaking their backs. It will be affordable; N200, N250. It probably won’t be more than that.
“I really cannot say because the fare structure will be where you are joining to where you are hopping off. Typically, it won’t be more than what you are running on your BRT lines today. It certainly cannot be more than that. For it to be accessible, affordability is critical for people to make it a better option.
“Now, it is quicker instead of you staying one hour on the road, it’s going to take you 20 minutes which comes with a lot of benefits. Affordability is critical, it’s not going to be in the thousands. So, you will still be in your regular N200, N300 per journey and that is what we are looking at.
“At best, if our operators say that ‘No, Mr Governor, it is more expensive’. We can do financing metrics… I will give you a longer tenure time to be able to defray your cost but keep it affordable for our citizens.”
It would be recalled that the governor has acquired two sets of new 10 cars Talgo 330kmph trains for Lagos Red Line rail project.
The acquisition deal of the trains was completed at a public event inside the Milwaukee facilities of Spanish train manufacturer Talgo Incorporated in the United States.
The trains will be heading to Lagos, Nigeria for the Red Line, a 37 km track rail project.
The red line will have 11 stations and when completed, it will be the first operational metro system in West Africa.
